Dallas diners are crazy-in-love with brunch. That devotion inspires chefs to get more creative with riffs on classic dishes. Some of the most exciting brunch entrees showcase global flavors or unusual ingredients, either house-made or available at specialty markets. Layers of flavors lend these dishes complexity, setting them apart from typical morning fare.

If you want to host a bang-up brunch, you're in luck: Some of these hits adapt easily to the home kitchen.

Eggs poached in spiced tomato-harissa sauce

(Louis DeLuca/Staff Photographer)

Inspired eggs

At Top Knot in uptown, chef Angela Hernandez makes a mind-blowing baked egg dish inspired by shakshuka, eggs poached in a spiced tomato sauce. Hernandez amps up the flavor with curry powder and harissa to make a spicier, more complex sauce. The dish is topped with a dollop of lebneh (yogurt cheese), flaky Maldon salt, a drizzle of olive oil and sliced charred peppers.

Top Knot Chef Angela Hernandez

(Brandon Wade/Special Contributor)

Thick country bread toast makes a crunchy counterpoint and vehicle for mopping up the delicious sauce. Hernandez bakes the eggs in a covered earthenware dish, but she says they can simply be cooked on a stovetop.

"If you make the sauce in advance, it's super easy. You just drop the eggs in the sauce and poach them. I've done shakshuka [that way] at home, and even camping," she says, adding that the sauce can be prepared up to three days before serving.

Thai tea french toast

(Louis DeLuca/Staff Photographer)

Toast with a twist

At Pakpao Thai, in Oak Lawn and Preston Hollow, French toast gets a Thai twist. Earthy Thai tea infuses the batter as well as the sugar for dusting the toast.

The killer coconut cream and palm sugar syrup is addictive. It gets its intriguing depth from Chinese cinnamon, and a palm leaf called pandan, which lends a vanilla-almond-floral note.

The syrup could replace maple as your favorite, so it's worth a trip to an Asian market for the ingredients. The final dusting with the Thai Tea Sugar isn't just a pretty garnish: The ground Thai tea flakes add another flavor dimension.

Breakfast flatbread with eggs, cheese, and parsley-mint pesto

(Louis DeLuca/Staff Photographer)

Pizzas for breakfast

Brunch flatbreads and pizzas are popping up all over town. Ivy Kitchen on Belt Line Road spreads scrambled eggs on flatbread along with a slew of savory toppings in a range of textures -- creamy, crunchy, and juicy. Pie Tap Pizza Workshop + Bar, in the Design District and on Henderson Avenue, created a Smoked Salmon Pie made with with lemony house-made ricotta and Icelandic smoked salmon. Besides the traditional smoked salmon accompaniments of dill, capers and red onion, the pie gets a rich, umami flourish from grated cured egg yolk, a culinary craze that's easy to replicate at home.

Read on for recipes from Top Knot and Pakpao, as well as some easy, restaurant-inspired flatbreads made with store-bought pita bread, naan or pizza crust.

Heat oil in a large heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat. Add onions, 1/2 teaspoon salt, garlic and ginger and "sweat" -- cook slowly, stirring occasionally to avoid browning, until the onions are tender, about 10 minutes. You can cover the pan to sweat, but watch carefully to prevent browning. If the onions begin to color before they are soft, add a splash of water to the pan.

Stir in the juice from the tomato can to prevent the spice mixture from burning, then crush the tomatoes with your hands as you add them. Stir in coconut milk and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Bring to a simmer and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent the bottom from scorching. Taste, and if you want it less spicy, add a tablespoon more of coconut milk. (May be prepared to this point up to 3 days before serving).

Gently break the eggs into the simmering sauce. (It's OK if some of the whites run astray, they will mingle with the sauce). Cover pan, reduce heat to low, and cook just until egg whites are no longer translucent but yolks are still runny, about 5 to 7 minutes. If some of the whites are not yet set, baste them with a little bit of the sauce, being careful to avoid the yolk so that it doesn't overcook.

Dot the baked eggs with small dollops of the labneh. Drizzle lightly with olive oil and sprinkle with a little Maldon salt. Garnish with poblano pepper, cilantro sprigs and red onion, if using. Serve with toast for a crunchy counterpoint and to sop up the sauce. Pass additional labneh for guests to add to their servings, if desired.

Makes 4 to 5 one-egg servings.

Source: Adapted from chef Angela Hernandez, Top Knot

For an 8-egg recipe: Double the sauce ingredients and cook the sauce in a Dutch oven or large saucepan, simmering for 20 to 30 minutes. When ready to cook the eggs, divide the prepared sauce between two skillets, bring to a simmer, and poach 4 eggs in each skillet (covered). Alternatively, put the sauce in a large lasagna pan or casserole, and bake the eggs in it for about 10 to 15 minutes in a 375 F oven. Watch closely so that the eggs don't over-bake.

Thai Tea French Toast

1/2 of a (17.6-ounce) disc of palm sugar (sold at Asian and Thai markets, or sub 1 cup sugar, but the flavor will be less complex)

1 (19-ounce) can coconut cream (sold at Thai and Asian markets)

2 (4-inch) pieces fresh pandan leaf (sold at Thai and Asian markets)

1 cinnamon stick (preferably Chinese cinnamon)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup brewed Sweet Thai Tea (recipe follows)

6 whole eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

8 slices 3/4-inch-thick challah bread

4 to 5 tablespoons butter (divided use)

Vegetable oil, if needed

Thai Tea Sugar, to taste (recipe follows)

Fresh berries for serving

Directions:

Roughly chop palm sugar and put it in a heavy-bottomed, medium saucepan. Turn heat to medium, and add coconut cream, pandan leaf pieces, cinnamon and salt. Bring to a gentle simmer, stirring often until sugar is melted. Simmer for another 10 to 15 minutes, until syrup thickens slightly. (May be prepared to this point several days before serving and kept tightly covered in the refrigerator. Reheat gently before using).

In a large shallow bowl, thoroughly whisk together Sweet Thai Tea, eggs and vanilla to make the batter.

Working with two slices of challah at a time, soak the bread in the egg mixture, turning several times.

In a nonstick sauté pan, heat 2 tablespoons butter until it is bubbling and hot enough for a drop of water to sizzle. Add bread slices and cook over medium heat until browned and cooked through, about 3 minutes. Flip and cook the other side. Regulate heat to avoid burning, and add a teaspoon of vegetable oil if the butter starts to color. Place cooked slices on a cookie sheet in a 250 F oven to keep warm while you continue battering and cooking remaining slices. Add more butter and oil to the pan as necessary.

Cut the toasts in half, if desired, and arrange on plates. Drizzle each serving with coconut cream syrup, sprinkle generously with Thai Tea Sugar, and garnish with fresh berries.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Source: Adapted from Pakpao

Thai Tea Sugar: Grind 1 tablespoon Thai tea leaves to a very fine powder in a coffee grinder (you can use a food processor, but the grind won't be uniformly fine). In a small bowl, whisk ground tea with 1/2 cup powdered sugar to combine thoroughly. May be prepared several days ahead and kept tightly covered at room temperature.

Heat oil in a 12-inch skillet set over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook until softened and beginning to brown on the edges. Using tongs, remove onions to a plate and set aside. Set skillet with oil aside until ready to cook eggs.

Place pita or naan breads on a baking sheet, flat-side down. Bake until bottom is crisped, about 5 to 8 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately distribute mozzarella evenly over the hot flatbread.

Beat eggs with salt and pepper to taste. Return pan with oil to medium-high heat. When oil is hot enough to sizzle a drop of water, add the eggs and stir, scraping up bottom and sides until soft curds form. Remove from heat while eggs are still moist and stir in feta.

Distribute eggs among flatbreads. Scatter onions over eggs. Dot or drizzle eggs with pesto. Cut each flatbread into quarters and serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings

Source: Tina Danze

Parsley and Mint Pesto: In the bowl of a food processor, process 1 clove peeled garlic. Add 3/4 cup parsley leaves, 1/2 cup packed mint leaves and 2 tablespoons shelled pistachios and process until chopped. While the motor is running, add 5 or 6 tablespoons olive oil (or more, for a thinner pesto). Season to taste with salt and pepper. May be prepared several days ahead of time and refrigerated, with plastic wrap covering the surface of the pesto.

Smoked Salmon and Creamy Goat Cheese Pizza

Heat a ready-made 12-inch pizza crust or packaged Afghan bread in a 425 F oven for 5 minutes (on the rack or on a baking sheet), or until the bottom is crisped. While the crust cools a bit, combine 4 ounces goat cheese with 4 ounces cream cheese until smooth. Spread cheese mixture on top of pizza. Top with 4 ounces good quality smoked salmon. Sprinkle with about 1 tablespoon chopped dill, capers and thin slivers of red onion, to taste. If desired, grate 1 cured egg yolk (recipe follows) over the top. Slice and serve immediately. Makes 4 servings.

A post shared by cooksscience (@cooksscience) on Mar 24, 2017 at 7:31am PDT

How to make cured egg yolks

Whisk 1 3/4 cups kosher salt with 1 1/4 cups sugar in a medium bowl. Evenly spread out half of this mixture in an 8x8-inch glass baking dish. Using the back of a tablespoon, create 4 evenly spaced depressions. Carefully place an egg yolk in each depression. Gently sprinkle remaining salt mixture over yolks and tightly wrap dish with plastic. Chill 4 days.

Heat oven to 150 F. Brush salt mixture off each yolk, then carefully rinse under cold water to remove any remaining salt (yolks will be semi-firm, bright and translucent). Gently pat dry with paper towels.

Generously coat a wire rack set inside a rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray and place yolks on rack. Dry out in oven until opaque and texture is like a firm Gruyère cheese, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Let cool. (Alternatively, if your oven doesn't go that low, you can dry out eggs in an unheated oven for 2 days.) Finely grate cured egg yolks over soups, pastas, salads or pizza, as you would a hard cheese. Cured yolks keep for one month, tightly covered, in the refrigerator.